Overwatch 2 Support Guide, Four Tips to Unlock Your Potential

Being a support is a thankless task. In our Overwatch 2 support article, you’ll get tips to improve your game.

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Overwatch 2 might seem similar to the game’s first version on paper, but in reality, it is not. We have access to all heroes from Overwatch, but the new game offers three additional heroes, new abilities, skins, maps, game modes, and tons of other things.

Even though each team will now have five heroes instead of six, we still have access to the same positions. Naturally, most people who had access to the opened and closed beta played DPS, but some players also like being tanks or supports. The latter is the least favorite role in the game by far, especially among the lower ranks. However, being a good support player can greatly impact your win rating, which is why many players try to “abuse” this role.

Aside from the abovementioned changes, every class in Overwatch 2 receives interesting buffs. In the case of supports, they will heal for 15 HP/second if they haven’t taken any damage in the last 1.5 seconds. This buff has an effect on some heroes and makes them a lot stronger.

That said, here are a few facts you should know if you want to take this role in Overwatch 2.

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You do not have a lot of things to protect you

One of the first things people will notice once they start playing Overwatch 2 is that the game feels more “alive”. Some tanks are completely different from in Overwatch and have weaker barriers (some of them don’t even have a shield). This is good news for DPS players because they will be able to do more damage, but it also means that support players need to be careful.

The lack of a powerful shield means that supports are way more vulnerable than before. In other words, people who play these heroes must know how to position themselves and play defensively when needed. We’ve seen a lot of bad examples during the beta, but players will eventually get used to it when the game becomes available to everyone.

Unsurprisingly, the new changes will also have an effect on Overwatch betting because the odds for a team with more healers should be higher than before.

The last thing we’d like to point out here is that the DPS heroes are faster, which is another problem for most supports. Besides the fact that they can flank them much faster, they can also escape when required.

Most teams will have one fewer tank, which is good news for you

One of the hardest things as healing support in Overwatch is to keep an eye on both thanks. Players who know what they need to do can often dodge the incoming damage and retreat when required. However, most tank players don’t know what to do, which is a nightmare for any support player.

Even though it will be harder to survive, the fact that there are only five heroes on each team means there should be only one tank. In other words, one of the healers can focus on him, whereas the other one will take care of the DPS.

Whether we will have one-tank setups is too early to tell because some tanks are incredibly strong in Overwatch 2. In fact, they do as much damage as the DPS, so we won’t be surprised if some pro team uses a double-tank setup.

Some supports feel stronger than others because they have more survivability

Even though all supports are good on paper and most received interesting buffs, in reality, some seem a lot better than others. One of the reasons for this is that they have more survivability. This brings us to the first point in this article, but we’ve decided to talk about it here because it is important.

Following the many hours we’ve played during the beta, it became clear that some support heroes feel much stronger than others. For example, Brigitte is almost twice as good as heroes like Zenyatta because the latter are extremely vulnerable to damage. So, don’t be surprised if your favorite hero might not seem as good as before.

Overwatch 2’s game tempo is much faster

Everyone who has had the chance to play in the two betas so far has probably noticed a lot of differences between OW 2 and OW. Aside from the obvious things, the tempo in the new game seems much faster than before. This has an effect on every class, but it seems like supports are affected the most.

Certain heroes allowed you to take your time and decide whether you had to heal or do damage. It seems like those times are gone because even supports like Moira require you to always be active and save yourself from the incoming danger.

Many people will appreciate the faster tempo, but others will have difficulties adjusting to it.

Final Thoughts

It seems like the support role in Overwatch 2 is just not as exciting as in Overwatch, at least for now. It is not bad by any means because heroes have extra healing and ally less to worry about. However, this is where the good things end because other classes are more fun and have more impact.

We will make sure to keep an eye on Overwatch 2 because we expect that Blizzard might decide to make some crucial changes. Sadly, we know we won’t have another beta for Overwatch 2 before launch. As Blizzard confirmed on Twitter that the game will only be tested internally prior to release. Don’t forget that the game will be free to play.